The special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal began on November 4, but voters continue to complain about the Election Commission’s lack of clarity on the kind of data which needs to be entered while filling up enumeration forms.
The confusion has been compounded as most booth-level officers (BLOs) implementing the SIR on the ground do not have a common answer to the queries of the applicants.
“I was married during the 2002 SIR, and the then electoral roll mentioned my husband’s name. I asked the BLO about what to write in the space provided to mention my relative. He said: ‘Whatever the post-2002 SIR electoral roll might mention, write your father’s name.’ I am confused,” said the homemaker from Bangur in Calcutta.
Now, move to Kasba in the city.
To the same query, the BLO visiting an apartment in Kasba said that the husband’s name should be mentioned as the relative to keep it in sync with the post-2002 SIR electoral roll.
Similarly, people who had queued up outside a studio in Salt Lake were not sure whether or not to affix a photograph to the form.
“Before rolling out the SIR in Bengal, the EC should have reviewed the lessons emerging from the Bihar exercise and resolved those. Instead, the EC rushed to implement the project in 12 states without ironing out these confusions. To make things clear, the CEO’s office should have issued advertisements in the media in the public interest to remove the confusion. The CEO’s office has issued quite a few clarifications since November 4, and it shows that there is a problem with clarity. Although I have read that the EC has recently stated that photographs are not necessary, I don’t want to take any chance,” said a Salt Lake resident standing in the queue.
Given the air of confusion existing among applicants over the process, The Telegraph has identified three common queries that are being asked frequently. These queries were taken to the officials of the EC, and here are the answers to those:
- The enumeration form has a slot for a picture, but doesn’t say whether it is mandatory or optional. What to do?
EC: It is up to the elector to decide whether he/she wants to paste a photograph on the form. As for the EC, pasting a photograph is optional, and it has been duly clarified.
- At the end of the enumeration form, there is a space for the voter to sign or put his/her thumb impression. It also says that an adult family member can also sign the form or put his/her thumb impression on it in case the applicant is not available. But the CEO’s office, in a circular issued on November 17, has categorically stated that the “enumeration form with unique QR code should be signed by the applicant himself/ herself with full signature or thumb impression”. Which guidelines should the applicant follow — one that is written on the form or the latest communication?
EC: Any adult family member can sign on behalf of the elector.
- Women who were already married during the 2002 SIR and have their husband’s name as a relative in the then electoral roll, whose name should they write when filling up the details of the 2002 SIR? In the form where the relative’s name has to be written, should they write their father’s name or mention their husband’s name as it figured in the 2002 post-SIR electoral rolls?
EC: The elector can fill in the relevant column with details as they appear in the 2002 post-SIR rolls. If the 2002 post-SIR electoral rolls have the name of the voter’s father as a reference, she needs to write that. If the 2002 post-SIR roll has the husband’s name as a reference, that will have to be written.